Mitre saws: The bigger the better?

Bulk not always a good thing imo. I have a big Erbauer one and its a ball ache making space for it.

I acquired a large mitre saw from dad after he died... And instantly understood what he'd said about storage being a pita. They really do take a lot of space, they are heavy too... It puts you off using them for small jobs tbh. B unless doing lots of skirting or stuff that needs the cut capacity, go smaller.

I've got one of the 255mm Evolutions. It's... OK.
It's huge, yeah, but cuts well, seems powerful enough for me. However, even after hours of painstaking setup and adjustment, I still can't get it to cut straight - forget trying to do trench cuts on it, and mitres rarely sit square. I basically use it as a chop saw a lot of the time now, and borrow a mate's Makita if I want nice accurate cuts.

If budget is an issue the Evolution is ok it's a bit sloppy on the stop settings 45deg ect just check the arbour hole size if you get new blades.
Metabo is a sticker brand now sadly

I've found the same as Submarined, my evolution saw is nearly there, oh so nearly square, but not quite (more accurate than me though)

I bought a used ELU (pre Dewalt) radial arm saw for a big renovation, it was a big solid thing that could be used for ripping planks/boards. It was solid and accurate.

It also held its value and sold for what I bought it for. They are big lumps though.

Evolution is ok it’s a bit sloppy on the stop settings 45deg ect just check the arbour hole size if you get new blades.

Evolutiuon's blades have a unique arbor size because of their metal cutting capabilities which means their blades are a special design and they dont want it to be possible to put the wrong kind of blade on or to put their blade on other machines. It means you're pretty much limited to their own blades and theyre quite expensive.

If you need that capacity for metal cutting they're phenomenal value, if you don't then theyre not a fabolous saw for wood and lack a bit of accuracy and are slow to set up. The metabo at a similar price will be better at cutting wood because its not handicapped by being a jack of all trades.

For things like skirting, flooring etc the sliding action gives plenty of capacity, you dont also need the additional depth of cut a larger blade would give. For house renovation work portability is more important. Apparently every time you walk through a door you forget something so for things like skirting bringing the saw to the work is better than trailing backwards and forwards to something bigger and forgetting angles and measurement 🙂

IMPORTANT NOTE

Keep sleeves rolled up when using and DO NOT reach in to pick up until the SAW HAS STOPPED SPINNING.

Sure it takes a few seconds more, but any mitre saw will amputate your entire arm in a heartbeat, if a sleeve catches in it in reaching in with sleeves down and the blade moving.

By coincidence im off to buy one tomorrow, though I'm not sure if ill get it because the tool site both has and hasn't got it in stock(no idea if they've updated the site)

If you intend to do some work or need one for hobby etc I can recommend the Dewalt DWS774.

It's a compact slide mitre saw, costs just over £200(about 210). The slide rails are stored internally so it takes up for less space and dont stick out the rear of the saw so it sits close to a wall.

I've a dewalt DW700, of which the 774 is a more modern version- but about the same saw.. 250x62mm cut at 90deg.  more than enough for most.

Im replacing mine with a Festool Kapex KS60 that I'll hopefully get tomorrow. Mainly because of all the slide mitre saws the Festool dust extraction is night and day compared to any other on the market.

Itsa  shame you're not in Glasgow, as you could have my DW700 for cheap, and its got a production rated 80t blade in it that itself costs £150.

i've got the metabo one you mention, it's ok for me doing jobs at home but it's a struggle to get the cuts perfect. probably as good as you'll get for the money though.

bigger definatly not better though, my brother got a really big one last year, only used it a few times and sold it to get a smaller one(although it still looks big compared to mine). said it was to much hassle to set up, get on to jobs etc.

I've never had a mitre saw but I've got a track saw and a jig that I made for repetitive cuts.
The jig was made from offcuts plus a metre rule. A piece of board and a clamp to use as a flag stop and I can make accurate quick cuts

I know it's not for everyone but it does everything I need very well. Stores small and with a couple of collapsible saw horses and some CLS makes a portable work station.

I’ve got a small evolution sliding compound saw. Got it several years ago from evolutions outlet store on eBay. I’ve done a fair bit of engineered oak flooring, a garage conversion, a large deck and fitted a couple of kitchens. I’ve never felt that anything other than my own skill has been a limiting factor.

Worth a look at the outlet store. I’ve had the saw, a saw tressle and a circular saw from them.

I've got the Evolution R210SMS-300+
Works well and is accurate. I think that I bought a finer blade than OEM (or maybe that was for another saw, it's too cold to go and look)

It’s all about what you expect to cut, I have a 255 but it’s been used to cut 80mm and 100mm posts, flooring (4 at a time), etc, etc.

As others say, bigger isn’t always better, but if you have a future project that requires more cut depth, it’ll be annoying

I have the Evolution 210 and can echo what McCruiskeen says.

The standard blade is an all rounder and is fine for general stuff but IME is not good for furniture or skirting - things that need to be neat. So you really need to budget in for a fine wood blade as well and you are limited to theirs. The depth stop is plastic and doesn't give a solid stop but otherwise it's a solid bit of kit. It also seems to draw a really big current on start up as it trips my garage breaker as there is no soft start. I can run a 2.2kW pressure washer and a 2kW can from the garage so it must be going some. Worth bearing in mind if you're in a garage with a limited supply.

It's decent enough for sure and feels like it'll outlast me for DIY use. Maybe if I was buying again I'd have spent a bit more but not planning to replace it.

I sold my evolution on because it was a pain in the hoop to get anything close to accurate. Back to the handsaw and the track saw for now.

My dad's Bosch though... That's due to go missing.

I'm using a Saxton blade on my Evolution. Came with adapters for the arbor.

It's worth paying more to get the accuracy of you can otherwise they are a bit if a pain.  Used to use a Metabo and it was close but would still be a bit off.  Got a Bosch now and it is always spot on.  Saves so much time but it was a lot more

I have a really nice Makita 300mm saw. I am no looking for a good second hand smaller one. It's brilliant but so heavy it puts me off using it.

I had a 300mm (sliding mitre) one, but got rid, as it was quite a lot more bulky, and, generally, just too big for the stuff I do. I’ve now got a 205/210, and it suits me fine. It is only the largest bits of timber it cannot cut at an angle, and that doesnt happen very often at all. It’s far better for smaller stuff like architrave and skirting.

I had an Einhell, bought the year before lockdown. It has not lasted and was binned this autuumn. It did work hard on treated garden timber, but ate bushings, developed some slop and ended up just burning out...

Prior to that I had an elderly Bosch that was much better and lasted about 5 house renovations for me, plus was borrowed by all and sundry. Until one friend left it outside for a few nights while they worked, not realising that electrical items and rain are not a good combo...ffs.

I think the achilies heel with a lot of mitre saws is slop or flex in the sliding mechanism and its a bit pot luck from model to model at the budget end of the scale whether that mechanism is any good or not. I once bought an own brand B&Q one for £60 that was remarkably good. It doesnt hurt to go to a physical shop and sore of 'test drive' a few makes and models - pull the saw out to full extension and give it a little wiggle and see whats happening to the blade relative to the slot in the base- some have got a lot of twist and side to side flex.

My preference used to be to go with a non-sliding mechanism and a bigger blade for accuracy on a budget - with more of the cost going into solid construction rather than complexity. But I think the idea of gizmos, lasers and so on shift more units at that price point and good non-sliders are difficult to find at any price point now. Something like the Dewalt DW704 or DW705 - solid, simple, compact and manageable and most important - dead accurate and stays accurate. And now unavailable. Second hand ones now seem to be on offer for more than I paid for mine new 15 years ago

I upgraded to a kepax a few years ago  but kept my DW705 because its so easy to throw in a van and set up quickly on a job and move around sites - and its just done the sycamore floorboards and skirtitngs etc in my living room

I had a cheap mitre saw which was ok, but what really made the difference was getting a mitre saw bench - helped accuracy and workbench height.

You can buy the saw benches quite cheaply now, I'd consider one for the work you're doing.

I then got a De Walt 250mm sliding saw in the sales, with that and the saw bench it's so easy to use - helps that I've a workshop with space.

Ive got a 210mm B&Q own brand that looks like a Titan but I think it has another brand name, had it forever. Its not fancy but it's well built and it cuts fine and straight. Decent blades seem the best investment to be honest. While its not got all the jazzy bits and the laser guide it does have did die fairly quickly, given the abuse it's had over the years no complaints. Ive not treated it well.

When I replace it Im lucky enough to have the space for a bench saw, so thats what I will be getting, until then the titan-esque mitre soldiers on admirably.

Same story here - I got the 8" Bosch sliding saw. It has a smaller blade than some, but the slide length is huge so the whole thing is about 1m from front to back. No way it'll fit on a normal workbench if the bench is up against a wall. I should have got something with a bigger blade (i.e. depth of cut) but shorter slide.

ive an Elu flip table/mitre saw (cant do bevel cuts) and an evolution 255 single bevel

The Elu i trust to cut the angles i require.

The evolution i use a Trend angle spliter gauge to set the blade to each cut if mitreing.

Mostly i use it for chopping up kindling wood pre splitting though and stick to the elu.

Like someone else has mentioned above, i have the Metabo as mentioned by the OP.

It was pretty much dead on square out the box, tiny adjustment on the bevel gauge.

Its done loads of CLS cutting, skirting, architrave etc. and its not too light, not too heavy. I have the folding stand with the rollers on aswell, i've not wanted for a bigger one yet, but if you were doing landscaping work i imagine you would quickly get bored of flipping 4" posts over to cut through both sides.

When i was looking originally it was a toss up between the Metabo, the Dewalt with shadow line, or the Hitachi/Hikoki with the rails coming out the front (saves on space), i heard the cheaper dewalts with the covered rails suffered from loose bearings after a while and the Hitachi/Hikoki was an unknown quantity at the time.

If i was in the market to choose again i would probably go with the Hitachi, or save some more pennies and get the Bosch with the snazzy folding arm!

I did a couple of floors in the house using a super cheap 'Star' compound saw - was fine for the job. You can hide any imperfections under the skirting anyway....

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/3925/14938776825_b7dd6e5305_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/3925/14938776825_b7dd6e5305_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/oL68TF ]Room isn't square, last plank is tapered[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

I then sold that one and have a Festool Kapex, which is lovely, but wouldn't have done a better job...

I picked up that Aldi bundle (sliding saw + stand) for £110.
Seems to be okay, needed zeroing in....it not 100% perfect but its good enough for what I need it for

I have the Aldi Workzone 210 slider, it's been superb for all the stuff you've listed, and made a big decking job a doddle,305 x 65mm depth so yes you swap a 4" post over. It is big and awkward unless you're in a cleared room or a workshop and it takes a big shelf to itself in the cellar.

When not doing precise angles like architraves and skirting corners my most useful powered saw is one of these

https://uk.worx.com/worxsaw-cordless-compact-plunge-circular-saw-20v-tool-only-wx527-9/

helped by a clamp on guide ruler for long cuts and keeping perpendicular.

Checked my blade; it's the Evo 40T fine wood blade
The saw sits in a space ~28"W x 16"H and 24"D, but it is the longer-reach version. There's room to fit other stuff in the spaces around it
HTH

I've got the little cordless Dewalt, but it'll still do a 50x250mm straight cut so trim & floor boards are a doddle.
Very light and portable and accurate. A little magnetic angle finder is great for checking these things.
Mounting it to my work bench with an adjustable stop block makes seated cuts a lot more accurate.

Loads of useful info, thanks. Sounds like I was right to question going for the larger option!

Definitely sticking with 210/216mm now. And I'll rule out the Evolution. I'd rather have something that's good at what I know I'll use, rather than have the added flexibility of metal etc 'just in case'.

The Metabo looks to be really good deal. I can find it for £150 and there's an offer to claim 2 free blades from the manufacturer.
But feedback on Dewalt is universally positive and the DWS774 can be found for £210 which may be worth the stretch, even if it's a trade-off in cut capacity. Does anyone have anything bad to say about that?
Next again would be the Bosch GCM800 at £240, with cut capacity in the middle and also very good reviews.

Bought a Parkside sliding mitre saw for some "rough" work and it was fine. Went over it in lockdown adjusted it and took time to get it as good as possible and its pretty good to be fair.

Well done. But mind and be careful, sleeves up and all that , use the material clamp and dont lift the cut section till the saw blade has stopped. And wear a mask if indoors, these things kick up an almighty dust storm.

I've also just bought one, picked it up a couple of weeks ago. Festool Kapex KS60. A wee bit more money that your Parkside one 😆